


The Neighbor

by amandateaches



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Reader-Insert, Single Parent AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 15:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16875282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amandateaches/pseuds/amandateaches
Summary: When you get called into work, your neighbor, Dean babysits your 4-year-old son. Together the 3 of you end up having a Halloween-filled day of fun. (Supernatural Single Parent x Neighbor!Dean AU)





	The Neighbor

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts: Single parent AU for @spnfluffbingo and Pumpkin Carving for @spngenrebingo

“Mama!” your four year old son, Nathan, screamed excitedly, drawing your attention away from the plumbing manual you were holding in your hands and over to where he was running around the kitchen, a towel wrapped around his neck. “Can I be a superhero for Halloween?!”

“Yeah, sure, honey,” you laughed, wiping your hand across your forehead and looking back down at the manual. “We’ll head to the store as soon as Mommy can figure out how to fix this leaky pipe.”

He skidded to a stop in front of you, his eyebrow raising inquisitively as the towel came to a billowing stop around his neck. “Why don’t you just ask Dean to fix it?”

“Wha…what?” you asked, momentarily speechless. Dean was your neighbor, and, although he did help out with the occasional home repair, you didn’t know Nathan had noticed. “Why would I ask Dean to fix it?”

“Because he can fix anything, Mama. You should call him.”

You paused, wavering for a second. On the one hand, you were pretty sure your son was right that Dean could fix this pipe way faster than you could. But, on the other hand, if Nathan had thought to mention it, then that probably meant you were calling on Dean way more often than you should. “I don’t know, baby…I’m sure Dean has better things to do today then come fix our sink.”

“I don’t think so, Mama,” Nathan said, his voice full of childhood confidence. “I think Dean’d love to come over.” He smiled wide. “I think he likessss you.”

Your eyes widened. “Nathan!” you scolded, waving your hand and dropping your eyes in embarrassment. “You be quiet. He does not.”

“He does too!” Nathan replied self-assuredly, vigorously nodding his little head up and down. He turned around and ran to grab your cell phone off the table before rushing back to you. “Call him!”

You started to shake your head, but Nathan pushed the phone at you, and you just couldn’t say no to his little face. “Ugh…fine!” you relented, grabbing the phone from your son and pressing Dean’s name. “I’ll call him, but, if he doesn’t answer…”

But, you didn’t even have time to finish your ultimatum: Dean answered on the second ring. “Y/N, hey! I’m glad you called.”

You rolled your eyes at the cocky, “I told you so” grin that appeared on your son’s face and stuck your tongue out at him before responding. “Yeah, hi. I was, um…wondering if maybe I could ask for a favor?”

“Anything. You know that.”

“Well, we have this leaky pipe…”

“Say no more!” Dean said quickly, immediately cutting you off. “I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

You thanked him and hung up the phone, holding up one finger to head off Nathan before he could even open his mouth. “Don’t you even start,” you laughed.

An hour later, you were standing in the kitchen with Dean, watching the newly fixed pipe under your sink with a smile. “Damn, you really can fix anything! You made that look easy.”

Dean grinned and wiped his hands on his jeans. “Well, I’ve had a lot of practice. I tend to break things as often enough as I fix them.”

You chuckled softly. “Well, then, I guess I owe my thanks to your propensity for oddly destructive accidents,” you replied with a playful smile, turning towards the coffee pot on the counter. “Hey, you want to stick around for some coffee?”

“Yeah, always,” he said, his grin widening. “Got any pie?”

“Always.” You winked and gestured towards the fridge, laughing when Dean all but raced to it. As you poured the coffee into the cups and Dean started in on the pie, straight from the tin, Nathan came running back into the kitchen, fully dressed with his shoes and jacket already on.

“Okay, I’m ready!”

You looked down at your son and smiled, bringing the mug to your lips. “Ready for what, honey?”

“For the costume store, mama! Duhhhh.” He turned towards Dean and grinned. “I’m gonna be a superhero!”

“Wow, that’s awesome, buddy,” Dean said, returning his grin as he grabbed the second cup of coffee from the counter and glanced over at you, a playful glint in appearing in his eyes. “So, what’s your mom gonna be?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” you answered back just as teasingly before you shifted your gaze away from him and over to Nathan. “Sorry, Nate, I forgot. I’ll be ready in a second.”

You put your coffee cup down, but, just as you did, your cell phone rang. You were laughing as you picked it up, but that laugh was quickly erased by the news you heard on the other side.

“Oh, shi…shoot,” you finished, guiltily meeting eyes with your young son as you hung up your phone. “I’m sorry, honey, but that was work. There was an emergency and they need me to go in.”

His whole face fell. “Now? But, what about the costume store?”

You sighed, guilt further clawing its way into your heart. “We’ll just have to go another time, Nate. I’m so sorry.”

Tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes. “But, Mama!!!”

“I’m sorry, Nathan, I really am, but I’ve got to go to work. You can go to grandma’s.”

“I don’t want to go to grandma’s! I want to be a superhero!” he cried, turning and running out of the kitchen and down the hallway to his room.

“Nathan!” you pleaded, taking a step around the kitchen island. You started to go after him when Dean grabbed your arm.

“Hey, why don’t you let me stay with him? It’ll give him a chance to calm down and maybe I can distract him a little bit.”

You sighed, looking up at him. “Dean, I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve already done so much…”

“Don’t,” Dean said, holding up his hand. “You know I love the kid. I’m happy to do it.”

You regarded him closely, searching his eyes for any uncertainty. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, picking up your purse and handing it to you as he ushered you out the door. “Now, go. Go to work. We’ll be fine for a few hours.”

“Okay, okay, I’m going,” you laughed, taking the purse from him.

And, with one last glance his way, you got in your car, leaving your house, and your son, with Dean. But, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you knew that there was one thing you didn’t have to leave him with: your trust.

He’d earned that a long time ago.

The emergency at work had turned out to be better than you’d thought, but it still took you a good three hours to sort out. By the time you made it back home, dusk was falling and you were feeling pretty damn bad for having saddled Dean with your over-active kid for the better part of a day.

As you walked in the front door, you were practicing your apology in your head, but it all flew out the window the second you registered the sight that laid in front of you: Dean and Nathan were sitting on the living room floor, newspaper and pumpkin guts spread all around them, with two giant pumpkins sitting right smack dab in the middle of it all.

“Um…hi?” you asked hesitantly, throwing your purse down on the nearby chair as you surveyed the room. “You two having fun?”

Dean looked up as soon as he heard your voice, and you could have sworn you saw his eyes light up just before he nudged Nathan and your son took off, running towards you at top speed. “Mama! You’re home!”

You caught his hug at your knees and lifted him up, finding a smile as his excitement hit you. “Me too, honey. What’s all this?”

“Dean and I’re making jack lanterns,” he said, turning in your arms to point at the two huge pumpkins. “Look at mine, Mama!”

Dean spun the first of two pumpkins around to reveal a lopsided pumpkin, with two majorly mismatched eyes and a horribly crooked, diagonal smile. “He made it all by himself,” Dean said with a wink, trying to hold back his grin.

You swallowed your laughter and smiled, meeting your son’s eyes. “It’s beautiful, baby,” you said, quickly changing the subject before he could see your amusement. “So, you two had a good day!”

“The best!” Nathan screamed, wiggling out of your arms and jumping down to run back over to Dean. “Hey, Mama, can Dean come to the costume store with us?”

Dean looked at you, uncertainty flashing through his eyes. “Oh, buddy, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. I bet your mom would like it if it was just the two of you…”

“No, no, no,” you said, pausing when you realized you may have sounded a little too eager. “I mean, if you want to come…we’d love to have you.”

Dean’s grin lit up his entire face. “Yeah, yeah, I’d like that.”

“Awesome!” Nathan shouted, mimicking Dean already. “Let’s go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

He grabbed Dean’s hand and pulled insistently until he stood up and walked over to you, chuckling. “Okay…Let’s go get Halloweeny,” he laughed, grabbing your hand and pulling you right along with them.

Hours later, as the moon shone high in the sky and you strolled down the pathway to your house, with Nathan skipping ahead of you and Dean, you couldn’t stop laughing at the images that were flashing through your mind from the costume store. “And, when you tried on that giant inflatable marshmallow! I swear, Dean, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” he teased, wrapping his arm around you until it draped over your shoulder and pulled you in close. “Not as funny as you in that bride of frankenstein outfit. Besides, I think I looked pretty damn good as a marshmallow.”

“Whatever you say, Dean,” you said, letting yourself lean into him as the tiredness swept over you. “I like the cowboy costume you chose much better.”

“Me too,” he laughed as the two of you finally reached your porch. “But, I don’t think anything will beat that princess costume you chose.” He tightened his arm, turning you so you were facing him, your head tilted up towards his. “You were practically made for it.”

Suddenly feeling a little shy, you looked down, cleared your throat, and stepped out from under his arm, unlocking the door to let Nathan run in while you turned back to Dean. “Hey…” you started, desperate to change the subject to something a little safer. “Thanks for today. I mean, staying with Nate, coming with us to the store, it was way more than you signed on for when you came over to fix my sink.”

Dean stepped in closer, his grin widening to once again take your breath away. “Come on, Y/N, you know I love spending time with you…and Nate,” he added hastily. “Both of you, I mean.”

You bit your lip and smiled softly, looking down at your shoes. “Nate really loves spending time with you too, you know.”

“Yeah?” he whispered, taking another step forward, boxing you in. “And, what about you?”

You looked up, getting lost in his deep, forest green eyes, and your breath caught in your throat. “Dean, I…”

“Mama!” Nathan’s voice shot through the open door, breaking the moment. “My superhero cape is stuck!!!!!!!!”

You dropped your chin to your chest, a sigh escaping your lips. “I can’t…Nathan needs me, Dean. I’m sorry…”

And, before you could face the disappoint in his eyes, you stepped inside and closed the door, turning around so you could lean against it and close your eyes. What the hell, Y/N? Had you just been about to…kiss Dean? Dean- your neighbor, your confidante, your rock…probably the most important person in your life, other than Nathan of course.

You sighed again, bringing your hand to your face. Dear, God, what were you doing? How could you even be considering that? Kissing was just the first step on the pathway to heartbreak, and you sure as hell weren’t willing to lose Dean that way. Not Dean…

“Mama!” Nathan yelled, once again breaking through your thoughts as he rushed in, his brand-new superhero outfit on backwards. “I think something’s wrong with this costume…”

You let out a tired laugh, gesturing towards your son. “Come here, you. I’ll fix it.” As you grabbed Nathan’s costume and began to turn it around, you noticed that he was clutching a paper in his right hand. “What’s that, Nate?” you asked offhandedly.

“I drew a picture!” he declared proudly, holding it up in front of your face. “Look!”

You smiled and glanced at the picture, doing a double take when you realized what you were looking at. You took it from Nathan’s hand and straightened up, staring at it intently, amazed at what you were seeing- it was a picture of you, and Nathan, and….Dean.

“It’s my family,” Nathan said quietly, smiling with pride, and you couldn’t stop the tears that gathered at the edges of your eyes. “Do you like it, Mama?”

“I love it, baby,” you whispered, letting out a tear-choked laugh as you finally realized that it wasn’t how much you’d be losing with Dean. It was how much you’d be gaining.

“Nathan, baby,” you stammered excitedly, suddenly seeing everything clearly. You clutched the picture with one hand and grabbed his arm with the other. “I need you to come with me.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah, right now. Come on,” you cried, taking his hand and pulling him out the door and onto the porch with you. The two of you ran down the pathway and out onto the sidewalk where you glimpsed Dean’s retreating back turning onto the pathway that led to his house. “Dean!” you yelled, your voice getting carried to him by the wind. “DEAN!”

He stopped and turned, confusion clouding his features when he caught sight of you and Nathan standing there. “Y/N? Wha…”

You ran up to him, Nathan right by your side, your breath coming out in pants as you came to a stop in front of him.

“Y/N? Nathan?” Dean mumbled, looking between the two of you, bewilderment clouding his eyes. “What’re you doing out here? Are you ok?”

“We’re fine,” you cried, reaching out to grab his forearm. “See, I’ve been such an idiot, trying to ignore this, not wanting to risk our friendship, but…you know what, that doesn’t matter.”

Dean grinned and shook his head. “Y/N, what in the world are you talkin’ about?!”

“This,” you breathed, holding up the picture so he could see it. “Dean, you’re more than just our neighbor and handyman. You’re Nathan’s family, and…” You took a deep breath, gathering your courage. “I want you to be mine, too.”

Dean’s eyes widened, his smile growing ever so slightly. “Are you saying…”

“I’m saying that I love you, Dean, and I want to be with you. That is, if you’ll have me…” You paused, looking down at Nathan’s beaming face. “…us.”

“Are you kidding?” Dean smirked, striking his hand out as fast as lightning and wrapping it around your waist, catching you off guard so you fell towards him, your hand moving from his forearm to his chest to brace yourself. “Y/N, why d’you think I stop by your house any chance I get and jump at any repair job you could possibly have?”

“Um…because you’re a good neighbor?”

He frowned, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Y/N, I don’t even know any of our other neighbors’ names.”

Realization dawned on you, but you fought the urge to smile, wanting to hear him say it. “So, then, what?”

“I’m in love with you, Y/N,” he said, his grin shooting straight to your heart. “I have been since the moment I met you. So, if you’re asking if I’ll have you and Nathan?” His voice dropped to a whisper, his arm tightening around your waist. “The answer is hell yeah.”

You smiled, but it was cut off by Dean’s kiss, his heartfelt, passionate, and oh so full of love kiss. You gasped into it, a gasp that was easily swallowed down by Dean as he deepened the kiss, turning you into putty right there in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Ewww….” came a soft voice, breaking the moment for the two of you and causing you to pull away, laughter bubbling up to your lips.

“Sorry, Nate,” Dean said, not even the least bit apologetically, “but I think that’s going to be happening a whole lot more often now.” He grinned and brought his hand to rest on your cheek, maintaining eye contact the whole time, even as he continued to address your son. “You cool with that?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Nathan shrugged. “But, I have a question?”

You smiled and looked down at him. “What’s that, honey?”

“Does this mean Dean’s gonna come trick or treating with us?”

You laughed, glancing back at Dean to find him chuckling right along with you. “Yeah, buddy,” he said, tossing another wink your way. “You bet I am.”


End file.
